State hearing board: Challenge over sludge in Upper Mount Bethel can advance

MORNING CALL STAFF REPORT

A state hearing board has rejected a bid to toss a challenge to the state Department of Environmental Protection's approval of plans to apply sewage sludge at three farms in Upper Mount Bethel Township.

DEP and Synagro MidAtlantic, a biosolids management company, had sought a partial summary judgment ruling in their favor, according to news release issued by Delaware Riverkeeper Network.

The July 1 ruling by the state Environmental Hearing Board means the challenge can continue, the network said.

DEP's approval of the sewage sludge application is being challenged by the network, Sludge Free Upper Mt. Bethel and 10 local residents, according to the news release.

The residents are concerned about the impacts of drinking water, streams, wetlands, endangered species, neighboring properties and the community, the news release said.

In December 2013, DEP issued site suitability determination letters that allowed a sewage sludge application by Synagro on the three farms in Upper Mount Bethel.

The three farms are the Potomac, Sunrise and Stone Church farms. All three drain into the Allegheny Creek

The challengers say DEP failed to fully consider the environmental impacts of the project.

Sewage sludge can contain contaminants ranging from a broad array of pathogens and heavy metals to pharmaceutical, steroidal, and flame retardant compounds, according to the news release.

"Up until now, in Pennsylvania and beyond, industry and corporations have always had the upper hand in the courts and the political arena, relegating environmental protection to an after thought and third class status," Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, said in a statement. "When we make environmental protection the priority in our decision-making we are in fact making people protection our priority.